Amadeus, the Madrid-based travel technology company, has announced its intention to acquire Idemia Public Security, a leading biometrics and identity services provider headquartered in France, for €1.2 billion. The deal follows Amadeus’ 2024 acquisition of Vision-Box, a biometric solutions provider for airports, airlines, and border control, and represents a further step in the company’s strategy to become an orchestrator of the travel ecosystem. Closing is expected mid-2027, subject to regulatory approvals.
IPS employs approximately 3,300 people worldwide and serves more than 600 public and private sector customers across passenger processing, access control, and government-grade biometric identification and data solutions. Its capabilities extend across airports, border systems, and regulated identity environments where trusted digital identity is critical. The acquisition broadens Amadeus’ biometric footprint significantly, adding IPS’s end-to-end platform and global blue-chip client base to Amadeus’ existing connections across airlines, airports, hotels, and border systems.
The deal accelerates Amadeus’ growth in airport and border verticals as biometric adoption across the travel industry rapidly increases. By integrating biometric capabilities with its core travel platform, Amadeus aims to support a more seamless, automated, and AI-enabled passenger journey from booking through airport processing and boarding. The combined offering is designed to drive faster processing, stronger security, and more efficient operations across the full range of travel stakeholders.
KEY QUOTES:
“This demonstrates further our long-term commitment to biometrics as part of our broader platform strategy. Alongside AI, biometrics is one of the most transformative technologies for delivering fast, convenient, and secure end-to-end traveler journeys. This will enable us to deliver our services across more traveler touch points, in turn reducing friction, and improving the traveler experience.”
Luis Maroto, President and CEO, Amadeus
“In a fast-evolving AI-world the bridging of physical and digital identity will be critical for seamless travel. By combining Amadeus and IPS capabilities we will be able to create more joined-up travel journeys in the future, better connecting the travel ecosystem and linking the traveler to the different steps of the journey.”
Decius Valmorbida, President of Travel, Amadeus
